Bug Fest iPhone review

When reviewing apps, there’s always the hope that you’ll come across a hidden gem from some unknown developer; a game that has somehow flown under the radar despite its abundant genius. Unfortunately, Bug Fest is not such a game.

Bug Fest is one of those apps you’ll play once, enjoy while it lasts, then never touch again. Unless for some bizarre-o reason you’re driven to beat your high score, there is literally not one reason to go back to it.

In Bug Fest, the aim is to splat little beasties before they can crawl to the top of the screen. If one of ‘em makes it, you lose one of your three hearts. When all three hearts are gone, it’s game over.

A variety of bugs keep things vaguely interesting, including a tiny yellow guy who’s really fast. You don’t have to catch him, he just gives you bonus points. The green one should be avoided; splat him and you’ll lose one of those valuable hearts. There’s also a giant red dude who can handle a few taps before exploding.

There are three modes, namely Easy, Normal and Hard. In each, the goal is to last 90 seconds. That’s it. Easy mode is stupidly, well, easy. It’ll take a couple of attempts at most to beat. Normal mode is a little more challenging, starting off gently and gradually turning mental. Hard mode is just ridiculous from the get-go.

To give Bug Fest some credit, the tap-to-splat mechanic works perfectly. You’ll never find yourself, for example, splatting a green bug by mistake. The red bugs only get away if you miss them.

There are online leaderboards, but… meh.

On the whole, Bug Fest isn’t bad per se, there’s just very little to it. After the first 30 seconds, you’ve seen everything there is to see. And at 59p, it’s simply impossible to recommend against the dozens of 5-star titles available for the same price.

Pros

Fun while it lasts

Touch controls work perfectly

Three difficulty levels

Cons

Each game only lasts 90 seconds, tops

There’s very little to see

Costs 59p

Summary: By no means terrible, but far too shallow to recommend. Young kids might get a kick out of Bug Fest’s Easy mode, but even they’ll be bored after a couple of goes.